It takes courage to stand by your convictions: creatively, spiritually, and otherwise.

Ms. Barrett, like most creative personalities, has probably been asked hundreds of times why she chooses to pursue her creative endeavor: in this case poetry. Instead of tossing out a few standard cliché’s, like others have often done, Ms. Barrett honestly delves into her past and brings us, the reader, along with her on the journey from the beginning of her poetry writing up to the present (when the article was written).

This journey is not accomplished in terms of dates or specific events, though she does mention a fairly late beginning, at the age of thirty-one. The journey takes place in the emotional and spiritual transitions spoken of over time. We are told how “profoundly playful” writing poetry seems to her in the beginning when the rest of her work is “oceanic in nature.” She then began to find numerous moments she “did not want to forget.” And she discovered that writing and sharing poetry brought the “possibility of new connections to other folks.” And, as the journey continued, and she “devoured books of poems,” and gained in her abilities, one of the most dramatic transitions takes place: she “began to find the poem as a way to discover, rather than to remember.”

To some extent, each of the fore mentioned transitions can be related to within my personal journey. Though I delve into various creative fields, the mental, spiritual, and emotional connections often run parallel. Not in the same order as Ms. Barrett’s, but quite similar and recognizable.

My initial attempts at poetry came as a child, after receiving my first guitar, when I tried to rhyme a song to cheer my dad up after my mom ran off with another guy. From that day until now, the biggest kick I receive from any of my poems or songs has never come from any public recognition – it is when I know I’ve touched another individual deeply. In fact, I can remember every poem/song I ever wrote specifically for an individual, and their reactions to them. I cannot say the same thing about any other creative form or outlet, not even the stuff I’ve sold or had publicly performed. Thus, touching individuals is still my primary focus.